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Classical Quarterly: Guidance for Contributors (before submission)

1) Scope

a) Classical Quarterly publishes articles on the literature, language, philosophy and history of ancient Greece and Rome (broadly conceived) down to approximately the end of the sixth century A.D.

b) The journal does not publish articles whose primary focus is on pedagogical topics or on post-classical receptions of antiquity.

c) The journal publishes articles relating to the history of scholarship after the end of classical antiquity only when they provide new insights into the ancient evidence under discussion.

2) Manuscript Preparation

a) Submissions to Classical Quarterly should be

1. Anonymized.
2. No longer than 12,000 words (inclusive of footnotes and abstract), though please note that this is a maximum, not a target. Classical Quarterly welcomes shorter pieces, including very short ones (less than 1,000 words). Referees are asked to comment on whether the length of an article is proportional to its significance, especially in the case of long articles (c. 9,000 words and over).
3. Exclusive to Classical Quarterly (i.e. not already published, including online self-publication, and not being reviewed for publication elsewhere).
4. Written in accurate English in the journal’s style, as detailed below.
5. Accompanied by an abstract and keywords, as detailed below.

3) Style

a) If your piece is accepted for publication, you will be responsible for putting it into the journal’s style, which is detailed in the separate document 'CQ Guidance for Contributors (detailed house style)'. (You may of course choose to adopt the journal’s style in full from the beginning, and if your piece is accepted, this will save you time in the long run; but there is no requirement to do this.)

b) However, these stylistic points must be followed before submission (your piece will not be sent out to referees until they are):

1. Use Times New Roman for languages written in the Roman alphabet.
2. Use New Athena Unicode for Greek.
3. Use some other Unicode font for languages written in other alphabets.
4. Use 12 pt font throughout (including footnotes).
5. Double-space your article throughout (including footnotes).
6. Number footnotes consecutively; do not use endnotes.
7. Put brief references in the main text.
8. Put lists of references and bibliographical details in the footnotes, not as a bibliography at the end of the article.
9. List works repeatedly cited in a footnote at the beginning of the article.
10. Cited references in full on the first occasion, and then in the form ‘Vlastos (n. 9), 245–6’. Note the space after ‘n.’, and the comma+space after the closing parenthesis.

4) Abstract and keywords

a) Your article should be accompanied by an abstract of up to 250 words, and between six and eight keywords.

b) Your abstract should be written in the third person (‘This article argues...’), not the first person.

c) Your abstract should make clear your article’s argument, methodology (where appropriate) and conclusions, providing an overview and indicating the key points at stake, but without going into detail.

d) As far as possible, your abstract should be comprehensible to non-specialists within and beyond the discipline of classical studies.

e) 250 words is an upper limit, not a target; your abstract may be much briefer, especially in cases of very short articles.

5) Copyright and permissions

a) Submissions will be expected to contain original work and should not have been published in abridged or other form elsewhere.

b) It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors grant an exclusive licence to The Classical Association.

c) Any requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled on behalf of The Classical Association by Cambridge University Press. This will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible and will protect the rights of the author and the Press.

d) In granting an exclusive licence, authors may use their own material in other publications provided that The Classical Association is acknowledged as the original authority for publication, and Cambridge University Press is notified in writing and in advance.

e) Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from the relevant authorities for the reproduction of any illustration or an extract, for both print and online formats. Authors are responsible for any reproduction costs or permission fees incurred. Authors must ensure that all permission enquiries and copyright forms are completed before sending a submission to the Journal.

f) The following is provided as a guide. If there is any doubt, please contact the Editors for advice.

1. For a copyright prose work, it is recommended that permission is obtained for the use of
   1. extracts longer than 400 words
   2. a series of extracts totalling more than 800 words, of which any one extract is more than 300 words
   3. an extract or series of extracts comprising one-quarter of the work or more.
2. For poetry:
   1. an extract of more than 40 lines
   2. series of extracts totalling more than 40 lines
   3. an extract comprising one-quarter or more of a complete poem.

6) Data protection

a) The details of authors submitting to Classical Quarterly will be securely held by the editorial office as part of the record of the peer-review process.

b) If your manuscript is accepted your personal details (name, contact information, affiliation) will be shared with CUP and any third-party vendors they work with as part of the publication process.

c) Under the GDPR, you have the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you, to ask for corrections to the data or to ask to be forgotten.

d) For more information please see the ICO guidelines or contact classicalquarterly@classicalassociation.org.